In gift presentation it is known to use decorative ribbons to secure the package wrapping, consisting of paper or other ornamental film-like material. To make the package more appealing, the end portions of the variously knotted decorative ribbon, and possibly other portions added to it to increase this appeal, are made to undergo curling or spiral winding. This curling is generally done manually by sliding the ribbon with force against a sharp edge of any implement, usually the edge of a scissors blade. The ribbons most suitable for curling are formed from one or more layers of suitable materials and/or their mixtures. Among the most used materials are plastic materials pertaining to the expanded or non-expanded polyolefin family. The principal members of this are polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene, preferably wholly of low density (PE-LD). This latter is the most sensitive to thermo-shrinkability. The said typical manual operation of curling the ends of decorative ribbons obviously requires a certain time and hence represents a cost, but in particular requires a certain expertise in judging the pressure with which the “stretching” tool should press on the ribbon and hence on the thumb which presses the ribbon during its forced sliding. The usual typical curling operation requires care to be taken in order not to ruin the fresh appearance of the ribbon and often not to cut and soil the operator's hands. The said typical operation also encounters difficulties of execution proportional to the thickness and width of the ribbon.
JP 11 020 070 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,725 disclose a ribbon according to the preamble of the claims. WO 93/09703 discloses a process of heat setting a ribbon formed by different layer.
An object of the present invention is to define a ribbon which can be offered to the user already provided with curls. Anther object is to define a ribbon, as above, which can be curled to provide curls of smaller radius than the normal method. Another object is to define a ribbon, as above, which can be marketed on the typical reels generally used by users. Another object is to define a ribbon, as above, which can be made of any width, in order to create new decorative applications and exclusive ornamental motifs. Another object is to define a process for forming the aforespecified ribbon.